YouTube tipped to launch its own music streaming service

YouTube is rumored to be gearing up to launch a subscription-based music streaming service. The video-streaming juggernaut is hoping to become a fully-fledged media juggernaut in the future it seems. The service is said to have a free model which allows users to listen to all the music they’d like, but with ads popping up from time to time. It’s no different than when ads pop-up before/while you’re watching your favorite YouTube videos. A paid subscription would of course remove the ads for an uninterrupted music-listening experience.

This YouTube music streaming rumor comes only a couple of weeks after it was rumored that Google is planning its own music streaming service. We’re unsure whether or not the Google rumors and the YouTube rumors are the same thing, but according to CNN, Google and YouTube may be setting up their own separate, music streaming services that offer the same features. YouTube is said to have its own negotiating team and own operating unit for its upcoming music streaming service.

Even without the music streaming service, the company is the most widely used medium for listening to music. Most of the top videos viewed on YouTube are music videos, and over 64% of teenagers preferred using YouTube to listen to music compared to any other music platform. Companies are also realizing that music streaming is the new future for gaining revenue. Warner Music Group received 25% of its digital revenue from music streaming services alone.

If Google and YouTube do launch their own subscription-based music streaming services, they have a lot of competition. They’re entering a saturated market. Spotify, Rdio, Pandora and many others already dominate the music streaming space, so Google may have a hard time getting its foot in the door. But considering it’s Google, the name itself may be enough to steal away users from the other services.

A YouTube spokesperson commented on this rumor saying, “While we don’t comment on rumor or speculation, there are some content creators that think they would benefit from a subscription revenue stream in addition to ads, so we’re looking at that.” Considering its YouTube and the amount of influence it has, its most likely going to follow through with a subscription music service.